Lately, Washington is reminding head coach Mike Hopkins of what feels like a different team: The non-conference version of the Huskies.
It’s not that UW was necessarily bad during that time. The Huskies dropped four games during the non-conference schedule, but the losses all came against quality teams in No. 22 Auburn, No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 16 Virginia Tech and Minnesota.
But some of the issues UW faced during the early portion of the season are resurfacing now. The Huskies are starting slow again — they fell behind Oregon by 16 points in the first half of Saturday’s loss — and their shooting is sporadic.